1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of electronic transfer of patient-entered medical data to an existing electronic medical record. More particularly, it pertains to a unique process for transferring data into electronic medical records that relieve the doctor and his or her staff from the time-consuming job of data transfer under slower, prior art processes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the health care industry, certain governmental agencies have been created to deal with the problems facing doctors and medical insurance agencies such as the efficient transfer of patient medical data from one entity to another. One of these agencies, the Health Care Financing Administration, has established laws which increase the amount of data that must be captured for each patient visit. These laws require the doctor or nurse to ask certain questions and document the questions and responses in the patient's chart. The amount of time required to ask the appropriate questions and document the responses often consumes a large portion of the patients office visit. There are over three hundred questions that can be asked of a patient to form a complete medical history (this includes the patient's past medical history, family history, social history, risk factors and symptoms.)
To help manage this continually increasing amount of medical data, many medical facilities invested millions of dollars in electronic medical records (EMR). An EMR is a computer application used to store patient-specific information. It contains all pertinent clinical information regarding a patient's health care. Though an EMR effectively manages the clinical data and provides a means for better patient care, the burden of data entry into the computer has discouraged acceptance of electronic, medical records throughout the industry.
To help with this seemingly overload of medical data required for each patient, physicians began requesting a means to allow the patient to enter some of their own data into the computer. However, another law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) prevents a patient from direct access to the EMR application because there is currently no secure method to prevent a patient from unauthorized access to other patients' charts.
Simultaneously, as more electronic systems were developed to manage medical information, standards were developed to govern the format for data exchange between disparate computer systems. These standards are generically labeled as “HL7”, or Health Level 7, and govern the format for data exchange between scheduling, billing, medical records and laboratory systems. Software vendors usually specialize in only one of the medical systems and build interfaces to link to the other systems. Laboratory computers were then able to send laboratory data to an electronic medical record using the HL7 laboratory specifications. Scheduling systems were able to send scheduling information to the electronic medical records through the HL7 scheduling specifications.
Unfortunately, no system has been developed to send patient entered data into an electronic medical record. Unless the vendor of the EMR was willing to provide a module for patients, medical facilities had no way to allow patients to safely enter their own data. Though there had been numerous requests for such an application, EMR vendors had not responded to the public's need.
This invention is a product and a new process to satisfy this long-sought but as yet unsatisfied need for the data flow. The invention comprises the combination of the use of scanning technology and laboratory interface specifications to create a unique mechanism for the patient entered data to enter into an electronic medical record. The electronic medical record freely accepts the patient entered data because it believes it is coming from a laboratory system. This process had never been used before and made quite an impression when it was demonstrated at a national conference in April 2000.
The achievements of this invention are realized at eight levels: First, the invention satisfies a long-standing need of the medical community that has not been met before.
Second, the invention removes a barrier, helping to encourage the use of technology in the medical industry. The medical industry has recognized that using electronic medical records has drastically decreased errors, saving lives and promoting better patient care. It was discovered that an EMR not only helps to manage data, but can be very effective in eliminating common documentation errors thus saving millions of lives. Parenthetically, it has been found that medical documentation errors cause more deaths than a jumbo jet crashing every day. However, the increased time required to enter the data into the computer has discouraged some health care providers from moving to electronic media. This invention drastically decreases the clinician's data entry time because the patient has already been asked the questions and the answers have been transferred into the patient's electronic record before the nurse or physician enters the exam room. Physicians are more willing to use the electronic medical record now that the task of data entry has been decreased.
Third, the quality of the office visit is also improved. Because the physician starts with the answers, the time usually spent gathering and documenting the information can now be used focusing on the patient's problems and concerns.
Fourth, the invention aids in early detection of medical problems. This method has already proven effective in diagnosing medical problems that could otherwise have been hidden. Because the patient questionnaire is more extensive than most manual methods of gathering data, the physician is given a more comprehensive view of the patient's condition. With this information, the physician is alerted to question the patient in more detail concerning conditions that have been revealed through use of the questionnaires.
Fifth, the invention helps the patient get what they want from an office visit. The patient is able to participate more in their own medical care. This method allows patients an opportunity to spend more time considering and documenting their medical condition. Patients often feel rushed while in an exam room and forget to mention a concern to the physician. After returning home, they call to speak to a nurse who then must question the physician and return a call to the patient. This method serves as a reminder to the patient concerning symptoms and conditions that they may otherwise have forgotten to tell the physician.
Sixth, the invention aids in meeting legal requirements. Laws governing medical documentation have increased, causing financial hardships on many medical practices. When documentation requirements are not met, clinics are fined and can suffer considerable financial loss. This invention not only transfers the data into the EMR, but also can insert the data as part of the current office visit documentation. Using this invention, a clinic is able to meet the increased documentation requirements.
Seventh, the invention provides a secure path for patient interaction with their record. Laws governing the privacy of a patient's medical record have been a challenge to medical organizations that see a need for patient interaction with their record but have not been able to find a safe method to allow that interaction. This invention provides a safe, easy to use and effective means for the patient's communication to enter into the their record without compromising security.
Finally, the invention aids in medical research. Gathering accurate data for research to improve patient care has been a long-standing problem. The invention provides a mechanism to capture complete data and write it in a consistent format, easing the burden of research. Because many facilities throughout the country will be using the same questionnaires, valuable data can be retrieved nationwide to aid in research to improve patient care.